If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Lost Mobile Phone Caused Qantas A380 Smoke Incident

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its report into a smoke incident on a Qantas Airways Airbus A380 that was caused by a mobile phone lithium battery that became caught in and crushed by the aircraft seat mechanism.

The aircraft, registered VH-OQD, was operating under flight number QF7 from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth on May 15. About two hours short of Dallas, a passenger alerted the crew to smoke in the cabin, which was coming from seat 19F on the upper deck.

“The crew found a crushed personal electronic device (PED) wedged tightly in the seat mechanism. The cabin crew assessed that the crushed PED contained a lithium battery. By that time, the PED was no longer emitting smoke; however, a strong, acrid smell remained in the cabin. The crew then maneuvered the seat and freed the PED. The crew placed the PED in a jug of water, which was then put in a metal box and monitored for the remainder of the flight,” the ATSB said in its final report, released Aug. 25.

The ATSB commended the crew on their “rapid and coordinated” response, which followed company fire-drill procedures.

No passengers were injured and the aircraft was not damaged in the incident.

The ATSB described the event as a serious incident that highlights the hazards of transporting lithium-ion battery powered PEDs. The ATSB has received 17 notifications of similar incidents of lithium battery thermal events in aircraft over the past six years.

Across the industry, there have been heightened efforts to safeguard against lithium battery fires. As part of this drive, airlines now often include an instruction in their safety briefings, instructing passengers to alert the crew if their mobile phones are lost in their seat mechanisms.

Re: Lost Mobile Phone Caused Qantas A380 Smoke Incident

I wonder how much effort the pax who lost the PED on a previous flight of this plane made to retrieve it before the battery went low in juice.

In the early days of mobile phones, when the handsets were as big as the portable radios we used on line maintenance, a mate at work forgot his phone in the cabin of a flight he was preparing to despatch. After the departure, he returned to the crew room for the regular fag and tea break. After sometime, he checked for the phone to make a call. When it dawned on him that he had left it on the Europe-bound aircraft, he began to make periodic calls to the number. When the call was eventually answered, the heavy European voice let my mate know that the phone was in good hands and he should forget about it!!!

Re: Lost Mobile Phone Caused Qantas A380 Smoke Incident

Water and Lithium react with each other. There's a tiny fraction of Lithium in a lithium ion battery. The priority is to cool the battery to prevent the thermal runaway. Small battery, large volume of water no problem!

Re: Lost Mobile Phone Caused Qantas A380 Smoke Incident

Way back in my mind, you can extinguish a Lithium fire using a Graphite L2 fire extinguisher. I've never seen one of those around no matter how may batteries we replace in various items fitted with Lithium Batteries to the aircraft.

A bigger problem (than phones) are laptop computers. More like an out of control barbeque.